Design in Boijmans

Design in Boijmans
20 September 2011

This autumn we are focussing on design at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, with two large and a smaller exhibitions and the display of the design collection. The museum also has planned a number of presentations and events devoted to current innovations and developments in design in 2012.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the Dutch podium for national and international design talent. This autumn, the programme ‘Design in Boijmans’ features three special exhibitions: a group show focussing on design proposals for a sustainable world and a survey of the design talent nominated for the prestigious Rotterdam Design Prize 201. In the same period there is an installation of a hundred woven pieces by Sheila Hicks. In 2012 the museum is presenting its new displays of the collection of design and a series of presentations of the newest developments in design.

Design in 2012
In 2012 the museum is teaming up with Premsela.org, Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion to organise a series of design presentations focussing on current trends. The museum’s design curator, Annemartine van Kesteren says: ‘It is interesting to show new design developments at an early stage in the form of small design presentations. The great thing about design is that you can see very immediately how new ideas and innovations are developing in the world. It is the translation of artistic ideas into everyday products. For a museum it is important to keep up to date with these developments.’

Design collection
Dutch design features prominently in the displays of the permanent collection. A tour of the displays shows how styles and forms have developed over time. The design collection is constantly being expanded. For example, in 2009 the museum acquired a rare chair by J.J.P. Oud, in 2010 the Frog Table by Hella Jongerius and recently the restored Futuro prototype by Matti Suuronen. Design also plays an important role in the museum’s interior. For example, in the entrance area you can admire and use innovative design features such as the Merry-Go-Round Coat Rack by Studio Wieki Somers. In addition these presentations of the collection, the museum regularly organises retrospective exhibitions of historical designers such as Jongert, Thorn Prikker and Gidding, interspersed with solo exhibitions of current designers such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic and Martin Margiela. Each year the museum also exhibits the most recent acquisitions of H+F Fashion on the Edge.

Shopping for design
The museum shop, designed in 2008 by Bertjan Pot, has a wonderful selection of luxury gift ideas from design books and jewellery to tableware. They include objects by Rotterdam-based designers such as Hella Jongerius and Richard Hutten and international design stars such as Karim Rashid, Ron Arad and Frank Gehry and exclusive design labels such as Droog Design, Royal VKB and Normann Copenhagen.